The Internet and Digital Imaging: A Recipe for Visual Deception

摘要

This paper examines the role of photographs in visual communication and investigates the negative impact of digital technologies on veracity of photographic images. The Internet's facility of uncensored publishing highlights the concern in the ethics of digital imaging and namely the undisclosed digital manipulation of photographic content. A survey conducted on three different sample groups found that the correct identification of manipulated features is extremely difficult and largely depends on the level of expertise in the field of digital imaging. The most problematic manipulation technique to identify was deletion, achieving an overall 2.71% accuracy. As digital technologies allow for easier content creation, alteration and distribution, the authors challenge the traditional believability in photographic evidence and propose investigation into the feasibility of implementing visual interpretation methods into broad education.